


The Strange Question

by Estel_Eruantien



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Realization, Sexuality, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 18:00:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6294274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estel_Eruantien/pseuds/Estel_Eruantien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What kind of a question is that, Mr. Merry?” Sam Gamgee asked.<br/>“In Tuckborough,” Pippin piped, “we were taught that it wasn’t normal for a lad to be with a lad, but it wasn’t a completely bad thing.”<br/>Frodo didn’t say anything, deciding to let this conversation play out by itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Strange Question

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So, this is the first story I have posted to this account. It is one I wrote a couple years back, but I really like it still. I'm in the process of writing some newer stuff to post in the future. I would also like to note that this story is posted on Fanfiction.net somewhere. That is also me, I just don't get on there as much anymore haha. Well, please enjoy, and leave a comment if you'd like! Thank you!

The Strange Question

AGES  
Frodo - 39  
Sam - 27  
Merry - 25  
Pippin - 17

On one fine, beautiful afternoon in Hobbiton, four young lads sat in a circle chatting merrily. Somehow there topic of discussion came to what gender each preferred. To some this was a common question -- to others, however, it was not.

“What kind of a question is that, Mr. Merry?” Sam Gamgee asked, affronted by the thought of such a thing. He had been raised like most lads in Hobbiton -- lads go with lasses, not other lads. But this type of upbringing was not one shared in all areas of the Shire.

“In Tuckborough,” Pippin piped, “we were taught that it wasn’t normal for a lad to be with a lad, but it wasn’t a completely bad thing.” Sam just looked at the little teen, having never heard this information before.

Frodo didn’t say anything, deciding to let this conversation play out by itself. He leaned back and used his arms for support, already having guessed what this would lead up to. Knowing his cousin, Merry, Sam wouldn’t like it.

Merry hummed thoughtfully for a moment. “Well, in Buckland, we don’t care who you like to be with. Lads can be with lasses or lads and it’d make no difference.”

“Well, Master Merry, Master Pippin, here in Hobbiton lads go with lasses and nothin’ else! I don’t mean to be steppin’ out of my place, but the ways you two were brought up -- it just ain’t natural!” Sam went on, somewhat unnerved by all of this.

Merry lay on his back, arms pillowing his head. “It doesn’t matter -- none of that answers my question. It doesn’t matter how you were raised, but who you like.” he could practically feel Sam’s suspicious eyes watching him take every breath. “I, for one, like lads.”

No one spoke just after that. Frodo already knew this and was neither surprised, nor troubled by it. Of course, he himself had been raised in Buckland, and thought like a lot of Bucklander’s did. Though, he preferred lasses over lads, unlike his cousin.

Pippin also was not surprised. The information had never been confirmed, but Pippin has suspected. It truly didn’t matter to him that his cousin liked lads -- as long as it wasn’t him being liked! Pippin liked his lasses. Well, not in any way that he’d want to wed soon - goodness no! He was just seventeen! But he thought lasses were awfully pretty, and he always envisioned himself being with a girl, not a boy.

“You like who you wanna like, Mr. Merry, but I will stick with liking lasses.” Sam huffed, his arms crossed defiantly. Merry smirked and sat up to face the gardener.

“Sam, have you ever been kissed?” Sam gasped, and Pippin gave Merry a strange look, but Frodo, again, remained silent. The group was silent for a moment, Merry’s question hanging unanswered.

“No.” Sam replied, his voice low. Most lads his age had had at least one kiss before. Sam, however, had not had one ever. He already knew Merry had -- he’d seen the lad with a few lasses before, which is why Sam was so confused as to his preference.

“I have,” Merry said, crossing his arms and mirroring Sam. “I have kissed both lads and lasses.” Sam wrinkled his nose at the thought of kissing another lad. “Pippin has been kissed by both also - Frodo too!”

Now this Sam did not expect. He looked over at his master in shock. Frodo sighed and gave him a small smile. “Yes, Sam, I have kissed lasses, but the lads I kissed were just Merry and Pippin.”

Pippin! So ever that little one has been kissed! And by a lad too! Sam was starting to feel slightly embarrassed. How a lad of just seventeen could have had his first kiss, and he, being twenty-five, had not, he wasn’t sure.

“Y’know, Sam, we could solve this little problem. Just so no one could ever use you never having been kissed against you in the future.” Merry said, scooting closer towards the middle of their circle. Frodo narrowed his eyes at his cousin, but said nothing. Maybe this could be a good thing - an eye-opener for Sam and Merry both.

Sam furrowed his brow. Why would someone want to use that against him? Though he was confused, the thought made him feel even more ashamed. Merry seemed to be acting quite strange, perhaps he shouldn’t ask or go along with this. But…maybe it wouldn’t hurt. “What do you have in mind?” He asked hesitantly.

Merry smiled, but controlled himself. “You have to trust me, and not freak out. Promise me, Sam.” Merry said, leaning forward so that he was on his knees and closer to Sam.

Sam stayed silent and looked at Frodo. His master just shrugged and grinned. He wouldn’t be able to help, because he thought the same way Merry did - all sneaky and secretive-like he was. Why wouldn’t he just tell Sam whether or not to do this?

Slowly, hesitantly, Sam nodded. “Alright, but I don’t like this. My old Gaffer always said that if you don’t know everything that’s going on, don’t get involved in it.”

Merry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Sam’s Gaffer said a lot of stuff; it doesn’t mean Merry has to care. “Okay, Sam,” Merry told him as he leaned forward even more, until he and Sam were nose to nose. “Just relax.”

Sam seemed to finally understand, and his eyes widened in surprise. However, he didn’t pull away, so Merry assumed he was safe to continue. Moving forward just a bit more, his lips connected with Sam’s. At first, Sam was completely still, not responding to Merry at all, and, for a moment, Merry didn’t think he would.

A spark suddenly shot through the younger Hobbit’s body as Sam’s mouth eased up and he kissed back a bit. He truly wasn’t a bad kisser, just a bit inexperienced. Merry leaned into the warmth of the connected lips, and Sam, surprisingly, deepened it.

Merry pressed his tongue to Sam’s lips, his request obvious, but Sam broke the kiss immediately after the little touch. The two were breathing slightly deeper than normal, and Frodo and Pippin were mesmerized by it.

Frodo had seen Merry kiss multiple people before, but none seemed to have done just whatever it was Sam’s kiss has done. Merry’s eyes shone with a strange clarity that Frodo had never seen before and a small smile played at the corner of his cousin’s mouth.

Sam, too, looked a bit changed. He also seemed a bit conflicted, as though he shouldn’t have liked whatever just happened. He had kissed a lad! And a Brandybuck at that! 

The two scooted away from each other, and the four started talking about something else, pretending that the kiss and that whole conversation never happened. But that didn’t change what had happened between the two tweens.

Later, after the boys had gone home, Sam went to the Green Dragon. After having a half-pint or two of ale, he spotted Merry. The gardener assumed he had been there for some time, for the young Brandybuck was leaving the building. Sam, in his slightly drunken state, followed.

Merry stopped just outside the Dragon, next to a tree, and looked up into the sky. Sam walked up just behind him. “Beautiful, isn’t it, Sam?” Merry asked.

“Yes, it is, Mr. Merry.” Sam replied gaze following Merry’s into the clear, star-speckled sky. Merry turned to face Sam, and Sam did the same.

Suddenly, no other words were needed. The two got closer and closer, until they were, for the second time that day, nose to nose. Merry placed a hand on the side of Sam’s head, and the other on his neck. Merry then leaned in and kissed Sam.

In response, Sam, his drunken haze subsiding, wrapped his arms around Merry’s slightly thinner waist, pulling him close. Merry again asked to deepen the kiss by swiping his tongue on Sam’s lip. This time, Sam accepted.

And the two stood there by the tree outside the Green Dragon, holding one another in their arms, lips interlocked. Merry was happy - it just felt so right to be there with Sam! And Sam, for once, had never thought that something so “unnatural” could feel so… natural! Sam’s mind cleared and he finally knew why he had never fit in with the lasses.

He was in love.


End file.
